College Connectivity Costs Set to Rise

Cuts in Government funding announced by the Department of Education mean that from August 2019 Further Education (FE) colleges in England will have to pay or be charged more for Internet Connectivity currently provided by the Janet Network.With Further Education (FE) budgets already stretched, these cuts will cost colleges thousands of pounds every year as they look to fund ISP services directly, including internet access and network security, currently provided by Jisc and the Janet Network.

From August 2019 Jisc have advised that they will be launching a subscription-based model to their Further Education (FE) college members in England to keep the services running, but at significantly higher cost than the incumbent internet service.

The indicative subscriptions provided by Jisc range from £15,000 a year for a medium-sized single-site college to more than £100,000 for a large college group.

With many colleges already struggling to cope under the increased pressure from budgetary cuts and rising costs this recent announcement will make it even more difficult for colleges to balance the books whilst keeping IT services running.

Services currently provided by Jisc include internet connectivity via the Janet Network, data centre services and IT Support.

Our message to colleges is that there are education-focussed providers, like Syscomm, that can offer excellent alternatives, including connectivity, IT support, monitoring, network security, off-site backup and telephony.

Speak with Syscomm today to understand how we can work with you and your college to provide a connectivity solution that offers fantastic value and significant cost savings for a Gigabit Janet alternative.